St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-02-05
A TALE OF ANCIENT ROME.

UOOu udS, oCi 1"S' Fi
shall see thee at the temple TO-
& At what temple noble Lucius -
asked tho young Roman. gazing IN,
1uirinnly in the face of his compan.
ion, an aged and gray bearded
veteran of many wars.
Chow now, boy !" exclaimed the
old man. Hast thou not heard
of the fruit and floral festival under
the charge of the Ladies' Aid So
ciety at the Temple of the Feretrl
an Jupiter on the Capitoline?"
The youth shuddered.
81 have forgotten, good Lucius,,
he said. Zone of the priests had
received call elsewhere, and this
festival is for the purpose OF rals'
ing funds to increase his meagre
salary, and thereby induce him to
remain. Am l not right? 3"
ayes, thou art oh Servius. y
II shall not be there. | attend
ed one entertainment OF this sort
some time ago. Ihad six scrupull
in my possession when went III,
but when I departed had not so
much as sestertius. y
"Nay, nay, my boy" interposed
the old man, this parsimony be-
comes thee not. 1t costs but one
denarius to enter
"But what does it cost to get
ont 2" moodily muttered the youth.
"In the temple continued Lu-
cius, "thou will find a large and
attractive assortment of fancy
goods and toilet articles at prices
far below their market value, for
they have been donated by various
tradesmen and artificers. y
{" But is it not taking an unfair
advantage of these same trades
men and artifcers,' said the young
man, 6 to sell their goods at prices
less than their values 90
'HThou art too scrupulous," said
Lucius angrily. "But, by Jupiter,
| will persuade thee yet. Know
then that the fair Tullia will have
charge of the table. Ha! thou
changest color, boy!
listen, my Lucius,H cried the
youth, 'and thou shall know my
secret. 1t is my purpose to espouse
the maiden whom thou hast named.
It therefore behooyeth me to guard
well the goods which the gods have
bestowed upon me. Were | to
visit the fair should be despoiled
of all, and my hope Of wedding
Tullia put forever to fight"
NAY, Servius, thou wrongest
them, and by the gods, ] will prove
it to thee, if thou will but go with
me to the temple. Why boy, a
golden Tyre of the most exquisite
workmanship and worth a hundred
scrupull is to be drawn for, and
the tickets are but a sestetius each.
Who knows but the gods will be-
stow this treasure upon thee!"
Enough, 0 Lucius," said the
youth, ~ will visit the fair, but |
shall remain only short time.
81 Thou hast decided wisely, Ser
vius. And now | must away; I'll
see thee later
That evening young Servius
donned his dress toga and pair of
red sandals and fastened to the
temple of the Feretria Jupiter.
With his pleasurable anticipations
was mingled vague presentiment
Of evil, which he found it impossi-
BILE to Danish. He was warmly
welcomed by all, including the fair
Tullia, who, when the first greet
ing had been exchanged, said:
Servius, you see yonder statue
OF Minerva, it is to be given to the
priest who receives the largest
number of votes. How many shall
| put you down for 2"
& Five, replied the youth, with
a sinking heart. What is the cost ?"
s.Ten sestertii each.
The youth handed her treble
scrupulum and waited for his
change. When he got tired Of
waiting he walked moodiiy away,
and was Immediately captured by
noble Roman matron, who did
not release him until she had sold
him an embroidered toga three
sizes too small for him, and various
other more or less useful articles.
And so it went, until at last Servi-
us has spent all his ready money,
and given notes for what he had at
home. But one hope sustained
him; he might draw the golden
Tyre, with he could sell for a hun
dred scrupuil. His ticket was
numbered CIVIL, and he fancied